German cities and municipalities allocate more than one in three euros of their budgets to social services and youth work. A study by the Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft indicates this share has risen by half since 1992. Spending on social assistance and childcare has increased particularly.
A study by the employer-affiliated Institut der Deutschen Wirtschaft (IW Köln) examines the shift in municipal spending over the past 30 years. The share for social services and youth work has doubled since 1992 and now exceeds one third of the total budget. Costs for social assistance and childcare have risen sharply, while expenditures on road construction, wastewater, and waste disposal have declined.
The authors emphasize that a large part of municipal spending is determined by political decisions at the federal and state levels. These priorities should also be financed by those levels. Spending on central administration has likewise climbed by about half to 21 percent of the budget.
This suggests that tasks such as the legal entitlement to childcare have been offloaded onto municipalities, displacing other areas like road building. "For an end to the municipal financial crisis, fully funded services for social and youth areas as well as a curbing of administrative tasks are needed," the authors conclude. It must be examined whether municipalities receive sufficient funds for their social burdens. The Rheinische Post first reported on the figures.